We moved into our new house about four months ago (Hallelujah), and I am just now putting stuff up on the walls. Just now. I adore arranging furniture and styling pieces, but for some reason I would rather prepare taxes then hang pictures, plates, or worse...shelves.

I had found some inspiration here that I was actually pretty pumped to try out. So, after gathering some items I already had, "enduring" a little bit of childless shopping, and practicing some minor patience, I was able to put together a spot that's pretty and functional.

The spot for this dresser is kind of unique. It's a little bit in the
living room, a little bit in the kitchen, and even a little bit in the
dining room, thus it functions a little bit for each room. We needed
some lamp lighting for the living room in the evening, and some extra
storage for dining linens and paper goods. Thus, meet my new best
friends:

(See how it's a little part of every room?)

Here's a breakdown on how it came together:

The Dresser: is an old reliable friend from my college days. I think I paid $75 for it at a yard sale, slapped some white paint on it, and named her Mary. Not really. Names for dressers are silly. She's been our guest room standard for the last 10 years, so her free and painless transformation from sachet connoisseur to our fab new table console, slash key holder, slash linen closet, slash paper goods keeper, slash stereo table (Pheww...she's busy), is kind of cool.

Lamps: Found these girls at TJMaxx for $29.95 a piece. It was love at first sight fo sho.

Leather Tray: Target, $16.95 on clearance. Not bad. Not bad.

Accessories: The silver bowl was a gift from a work Christmas party like six years ago. It is the perfect place for the hub's keys, wallet, watch, whatever. It's not just a bowl. It's a peacekeeper. The stacked books are just from our stash, but you know the kind, these are the ones that are too tall to fit upright in the book shelf. Yay! Finally a home where they fit in (Get it? Fit in? Nope. I'm here all day people.)

Stereo: It may be little, but it definitely puts out great sound. It's a Philips Ipod Stereo/Charger that I am pretty sure I got it at Target last year. This is a great spot for it too, because music radiates between the dining room, kitchen, and living room, which is perfect for entertaining.

Plates: They're all from TJMaxx at some time or another, and I can promise you I didn't spend over $4 for one of them because I'm cheap like that. I did splurge on these adhesive plate hangers from Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each (see below), well, because I'm lazy like that.

Love these guys. They are so easy to attach to the plate, and hanging is a breeze. Which bodes well for my "hanging stuff" aversion. Arranging tip #1: Place your plates on the floor to play around with the design and look you want before hanging them. You'll have less nail holes. Well, less nail holes then me probably. Arranging tip #2: Do not ask your husband what he thinks after hanging them. He may say at first that he likes it a lot, but then later concede that he thinks your design might look like a cheerleader holding poms poms. This will make you sad, because now...that's all you see. Just saying.